College of the Redwoods preparing to mothball Fort Bragg campus

Paul DeMark, director of communications for College of the Redwoods, announced that the location of the Tuesday, Feb. 4 board of trustees meeting has been moved to the new performing arts theater on the Eureka campus. The location was moved because CR anticipates the possibility of a crowd that may be larger than could be handled in the board room.

The performing arts center is located adjacent to the Student Services/Administration Building.

DeMark said CR is anticipating having video and audio streaming of the meeting available beginning at 1 p.m. for members of the public who cannot attend the meeting. The link can be found at CR Board of Trustees live stream.

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It appears that College of the Redwoods is preparing to shutter the Mendocino Coast campus on Del Mar Drive in Fort Bragg, beginning fall 2014.

"I am recommending that we suspend all operations, beginning with the 2014-15 academic year, at the Del Mar Drive location of CRMC," President Kathy Smith said in an email sent Tuesday, Jan. 28, to CRMC faculty.

She will present her recommendation to the Redwoods Community College District board of trustees at its Tuesday, Feb. 4, meeting in Eureka.

Smith's recommendation is a first reading, meaning that no action will be taken on it at the meeting.

Second shock this month

The news comes on the heels of three of the remaining four full-time faculty learning their jobs will be relocated.

On Jan. 17, David Gonsalves, campus coordinator/counselor, Toby Green, professor of history and political science, and Richard Ries, professor of mathematics, were notified by Smith that their positions are being transferred elsewhere in the district, effective fall 2014. That leaves Laura Mays, director of CR's internationally famous fine woodworking program, as the sole local full-time instructor.

In her Jan. 28 email to faculty, Smith said, "I do see a future for the campus, but it needs to be carefully planned and we cannot afford to operate 'as is' until we are ready to move forward. I know this affects you and your families personally, and for that I am sincerely sorry.

"The primary issue is that doing things the way we have always done them is just not sustainable," she said. "We must back up, take stock of the current environment at both the state and local level, and regroup with a fresh perspective."

Little communication

The administration has been increasingly uncommunicative in response to newspaper requests for information about CRMC's future.

In a Jan. 17 email to the newspaper, Paul DeMark, CR's director of communications and marketing, said, "The CR Board of Trustees is in the midst of a thorough study of all the CR District Centers, Instructional Sites and the main campus for future planning purposes. Therefore, commenting on many of your questions would be premature. I will keep you informed of information regarding the CR Mendocino Coast Education Center as well as other College facilities when it is available."

Word of the impending closure did not come from DeMark.

Smith is also recommending that operations at CR's Garberville Instructional Site also be suspended beginning in the 2014-2015 academic year.

Recommendations

In her recommendation to the board of trustees, Smith enumerated several points, including:

- Increase leasing opportunities at the campus and increase lease revenue to ensure full coverage of facility costs.

- Work with the California School Employees Association to offer transfer opportunities to those staff members whose job functions are needed elsewhere in the district. - Continue the Fine Woodworking program and maintain the program's current faculty and staff resources.

- Work with current students to complete their programs through distance education, transfer to another CR location, and/or enroll in classes articulated with partnering colleges.

- Work with Mendocino College in Ukiah to develop articulation agreements and to offer classes on the coast.

- Engage in discussions at the administration and board level to potentially transfer the Mendocino County portion of the Redwoods Community College District to the Mendocino Community College District.

- Include plans for CRMC in the district-wide development of adult education and the expansion of community education, dual enrollment and distance education programs.

- Deliver above programs on the Mendocino Coast that meet community needs and are financially sustainable.

Factors

CRMC has grappled with several challenges over the last several years.

According to Smith, "the de-emphasis of life-long learning courses and the increased limitations on repeatability have limited the ability of CR to offer the array of courses that it once did at CRMC."

She also noted the economic impact of losing major employers in the coastal area on the number of school age residents living on the coast and attending local schools. The average age of the coastal resident has significantly increased, she said.

The board of trustees meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 4, 1 p.m., at College of the Redwoods, 7351 Tompkins Hill Rd., Eureka, in room SS202.

The subject of CRMC is for discussion only and no action will be taken by the board, according to the agenda.

Members of the public can submit written letters to the board of trustees about items on the agenda and/or speak on agenda items at the board meeting. Written communication regarding items on the agenda should reach the office of President Kathy Smith no later than three calendar days before the meeting at which the topic is to be before the board.

All written communications must be dated and signed by the author, contain the address of the author and the author's organizational affiliation, if any.

Community members can address written comments to the President's Office, College of the Redwoods, 7351 Tompkins Hill Rd., Eureka, CA 95501 or email michelle-anderson@redwoods.edu.